The league's owners will meet next week in Atlanta to vote on Manfred's extension. According to the report, Manfred is expected to receive a unanimous vote.

To receive the extension, he needs the votes of at least 23 of the 30 team owners.

Other topics that will be discussed during the owners' meetings are a 20-second pitch clock for 2019, diminishing the use of "openers" instead of starting pitchers, and decreasing the amount of pitching changes.

One controversial point that several general managers are in favor of is having a 28-man roster in April, then limiting active players on the roster in September. But deputy commissioner Dan Halem said that could affect the collective bargaining agreement, which is set to expire in 2021.

“In the collective bargaining in 2016, it was a topic that was heavily discussed,’’ Halem said. “We came very close to an agreement on that topic. For a variety of reasons, we didn’t make an agreement on expanding the 25-man roster. I’m sure there will be discussions certainly in the next collective bargaining round. Maybe there will be discussions before, but it’s a topic that we’ll continue to discuss in the future.’’